Alberta to review emergency alert system following multi-week search for Calgary boy

The Alberta government plans to review its emergency alert system after a multi-week search for an 11-year-old boy with autism in Calgary last month.

The province said on Monday it’s looking to strengthen the systems it has in place for when a vulnerable person goes missing.

Alberta’s Public Safety and Emergency Services ministry said it plans to consult law enforcement, disability advocates and other community partners around the province to examine its emergency alert protocols, including a review of the Amber Alert system.

The review follows the death of Parker, an 11-year-old boy who went missing in July before later being confirmed dead. 

Parker, a non-verbal autistic boy, disappeared from his specialized day facility on July 16. Thousands of police officers, trained searchers and volunteers looked for him across Calgary for nearly two weeks, before police announced they had found his remains.

“We want to make sure we learn from what happened,” said Mike Ellis, Alberta’s minister of public safety and emergency services, in a news release.

“By listening to law enforcement, disability advocates and community partners, we can better understand how emergency alerts are working today and what options should be considered for the future.”

The province announced on Monday that the Assisted Living and Social Services ministry also plans to review the policies and procedures of the service provider that was responsible for Parker’s care when he went missing.

It added that the ministry’s review will coincide with an operational and investigation review that the Calgary Police Service is also conducting following Parker’s death.

Emergency alerts are issued by law enforcement, and are governed through a memorandum of understanding between the provincial government, the RCMP, and municipal and First Nation police services.

The announcement comes more than a week after federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for reform to the national emergency alert system. Poilievre suggested changes across Canada to public alerts, improved first responder training and search protocols, and clarifying police authority in issuing alerts.

Missing Children Society of Canada CEO Amanda Pick told CBC Radio’s Calgary Eyeopener last month that she understands why there’s a focus around the Amber Alert, but she cautioned that a substantial amount of alerts going out to the province could desensitize people to them.

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“I’m not suggesting that the system shouldn’t have been used for Parker’s case, what I am saying is it’s really important to understand how the system itself is used,” said Pick.

“We’re talking about the same system that alerts all Calgarians and Albertans around emergency alerts, around when we look at public safety alerts, and then we see the same type of call to action around other types of cases beyond Parker.”

On her provincial radio show last month, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government is looking at expanding local law enforcement’s ability to issue alerts themselves